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A spokesperson said the chain was also "simplifying" its stock control, merchandising and staff catering processes while also making changes to its head office teams as part of the £1.5bn cost-saving measures.

Its other 'big four' rivals Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's all cut jobs in 2018.

Jason Tarry, the chain's UK and Republic of Ireland chief executive, said: "Overall, we estimate that up to 9,000 Tesco colleague roles could be impacted, however, our expectation is that up to half of these colleagues could be redeployed to other customer-facing roles.